Tatsunoko Production

Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd.
Native name
株式会社タツノコプロ
(formerly spelled as 竜の子プロダクション)
Kabushiki-gaisha Tatsunoko Puro
Company typeKabushiki gaisha
FoundedOctober 19, 1962; 62 years ago (1962-10-19)[1]
FounderTatsuo Yoshida
Kenji Yoshida
Ippei Kuri
HeadquartersMusashino, Tokyo, Japan[1]
Key people
Kyou Itou
(President and CEO)
ProductsAnime
OwnerNippon Television (55.2%)
Takara Tomy (20.0%)
Horipro (13.5%)
Production I.G (11.2%)
Number of employees
101[2] (2024)
DivisionsI.G Tatsunoko (1987–1993)
Websitetatsunoko.co.jp

Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. (株式会社タツノコプロ, Kabushiki gaisha Tatsunoko Puro)[a] and often shortened to Tatsunoko Pro (タツノコプロ, Tatsunoko Puro), is a Japanese animation and li company. The studio's name has a double meaning in Japanese: "Tatsu's child" (Tatsu is a nickname for Tatsuo) and "sea dragon", the inspiration for its seahorse logo.[3][4]

Tatsunoko Production was established in 1962 and is engaged in the planning and production of anime films and television series, as well as character licensing.[5] The company produced many hit anime series from the 1960s through the 1980s, and holds numerous original rights and character copyrights for its original works in Japan and abroad.[5] The company is one of Japan's leading anime studios in terms of the breadth and richness of its content, ranging from hard action heroes to comedies, science fiction, anthropomorphic animals, and domestic dramas.[6][7][8] Since the first work, Space Ace, they have produced many works such as Speed Racer, Hakushon Daimaō, Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, and the Time Bokan series, supporting the dawn of Japanese animation.[7][9] Although the company later began producing works set in Japan, it has basically aimed from its inception to produce works that can be used anywhere in the world in a stateless manner.[7]

In the genealogy of animation studios in the history of Japanese animation, Tatsunoko is known as the studio that created many derivative studios along with Toei Doga (currently Toei Animation), Mushi Production, and Tokyo Movie (currently TMS Entertainment).[10][11][12]

In the past, Tatsunoko had a production system in which almost all processes, from planning to scriptwriting, drawing, cinematography, and editing, were completed in-house. The company continued to use this system for a long time after Toei Doga and Mushi Production, which had a similar production system, became unsustainable due to streamlining and bankruptcy.[6][13][b]

Initially, Founder Tatsuo Yoshida tried to establish his studio's own style with realistic drawings that accurately depicted muscles and skeletons.[9][14] At that time, it was common knowledge that animation was to be abbreviated or deformed, and that pictures were to be simplified as much as possible to show movement.[14][15] Even Mushi Production and Disney used to draw the car so that when it starts, it first contracts like rubber and then jumps out like a bullet due to the recoil, and when it stops, it contracts once due to braking and then extends and returns to its original state.[14][15] However, Tatsuo Yoshida insisted on realistic animation and produced Mach GoGoGo.[6][16] For the scene where the car spins, he rented a driving school and had the driver actually demonstrate the spin with the car, and had the animators draw the scene without deforming it by referring to the demonstration.[14][15][17] It was so well received that it became the studio's origin and led to subsequent realistic, hard-action works.[7] However, Yoshida's drawings, with their many lines, precision, and sharpness, were unsuitable for animation, which required many drawings of the same picture, and were difficult for other animators to imitate.[7][17] Most animators refused to participate in the production, and the company's schedule was on the verge of collapse. However, the company was able to get through the busy season when a comedy with a simple design happened to enter the production rotation.[14] This allowed the company to learn how to run a studio that alternated between serious action animation with detailed drawings and comedy animation with simple drawings using deformation, resulting in a wide range of styles.[9]

  1. ^ a b "Tatsunoko Pro". Tatsunoko.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  2. ^ "タツノコプロ | 会社概要".
  3. ^ Jorge Khoury (2008-05-11). "GATCHAMAN! The story of Tatsuo Yoshida and his greatest creation". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  4. ^ Macias, Patrick (2008-07-03). "'Speed Racer': drawing on an anime legend". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  5. ^ a b "Nippon TV Acquires Shares of TATSUNOKO PRODUCTION Co., Ltd". Nippon TV. January 29, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Tatsunoko heroes of legend gather "Infini-T Force (Infinity Force)" for Hiroshi Sasagawa & Kunio Okawara talks [full version]". Gigazine. OSA. July 10, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d e Wakabayashi, Keisuke (October 8, 2022). "タツノコプロの60年、「タイムボカン」誕生秘話…部屋にバチッと飛び込んできたカブトムシに「これだ!」" [60 years of Tatsunoko Productions, the secret story of the birth of "Time Bokan" - A beetle that suddenly jumped into the room made me think, "This is it!"]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Sudo, Tadashi (July 25, 2018). "【ヘンなアニメ会社・タツノコプロの秘密】随分小ッチャイ会社だね、2メーターの会社って…" [[The secret of the strange anime company Tatsunoko Productions] It's quite a small company, a 2 meter company...]. Citrus (in Japanese). All About Navi. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  9. ^ a b c Kawabe, Minako (September 21, 2022). "タツノコプロ60周年の軌跡【前編】創立から3年経って完成した第1作『宇宙エース』" [Tatsunoko Productions 60th anniversary trajectory [Part 1] The first work “Space Ace” completed 3 years after its founding]. News Post Seven (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  10. ^ https://animetudes.com/2022/01/22/the-history-of-tatsunoko-1-early-days/%7Cwebsite= AniméTudes
  11. ^ "TVアニメ50年史のための情報整理 第11回 1973年（昭和48年）虫プロの倒産と業界の再編成" [Organizing Information for a 50-Year History of TV Animation Vol. 11 1973: The Bankruptcy of Mushi Productions and the Reorganization of the Industry]. WEB Anime Style (in Japanese). Style. June 17, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  12. ^ "80年代の「ナウいアニメ」を、どうやって現代に復活させる?" [How can we revive the "modern anime" of the 1980s into modern times?]. Akiba Soken (in Japanese). Kakaku.com. July 31, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  13. ^ Nakamura, Koji (August 3, 2007). "押井守監督が語る日本アニメーションの「あの頃」と「これから」" [Director Mamoru Oshii talks about the then and future of Japanese animation.] (in Japanese). Kyoto Seika University. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d e Hirota, Keisuke (October 24, 2020). "1971年放送のギャグアニメ「カバトット」、来年で50周年! 笹川ひろし監督の見たタツノコプロ創成期のあれこれ【アニメ業界ウォッチング第70回】" [The comedy anime “Kabatotto”, which aired in 1971, will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year! Director Hiroshi Sasagawa's observations of the early days of Tatsunoko Productions [Anime Industry Watching No. 70]]. Akiba Soken (in Japanese). Kakaku.com. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c Nakamura, Koji (August 3, 2007). "『マッハGoGoGo』放送開始40周年記念企画 - 演出家の笹川ひろし氏が明かす制作秘話" ["Mach GoGoGo" 40th anniversary commemorative project - production secrets revealed by director Hiroshi Sasagawa]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). Mynavi. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  16. ^ Sudo, Tadashi (December 27, 2018). "タツノコプロに訊く! 「ガッチャマン」から「キンプリ」まで、伝統と新しさでアニメシーンを牽引【インタビュー】" [Ask Tatsunoko Production! From "Gatchaman" to "Kinpuri", leading the anime scene with tradition and newness [Interview]]. Anime!Anime! (in Japanese). iid. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "「劇場版Infini-T Force/ ガッチャマン さらば友よ」、笹川ひろし&大河原邦男登壇のレジェンドトークショー公式レポートが到着!" ["Infini-T Force the Movie/Gatchaman Farewell, Friends", the official report of the legendary talk show featuring Hiroshi Sasagawa and Kunio Okawara has arrived!]. Akiba Soken (in Japanese). Kakaku.com. February 28, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2024.


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